Indian Hi-fi Equipment/Accessories comparable with best in class international products

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This thread was inspired by the recent hotly discussed thread ‘In India imported hifi equipment is over-priced - true or false’. There’s a consensus that imported equipment is generally overpriced (with notable exceptions) here in India, for a number of reasons. So why not we all create a single repository to list down Indian Hi-fi products (equipment or accessories designed and/or manufactured in India) which we have owned or heard extensively and are convinced that they are world class products in the given (or even higher) price range? This thread could showcase (and motivate) Indian hi-fi brands as well as provide a ready reckoner for forum members and readers to find quality Indian product alternatives at affordable prices!

To ensure ease of reading and assessment, kindly follow the format below in your posts. And please keep it down to only one manufacturer/brand per post (add as many posts as you would like to).

1. Manufacturer/Brand Name:

2. Equipment categories made: (try and use categories as per HFV sub-forums)

3. Price range: Entry, Budget, Mid-priced, High-end, Luxury (for eg for speakers these will correspond roughly to INR <25k, 25-75k, 75k-2L, 2L-6L, >6L respectively - or use your own judgment here)

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively:

5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: state in percentage lower than

6. What do you like best about these products: Add specs/design/build/performance/service - whatever applies, and elaborate

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance:

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details:

9. Any other information (not covered above):
 
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Let me initiate the database with my experience.

1. Manufacturer/Brand Name: Lyrita Audio

2. Equipment categories made: Preamps (tube), Amplifiers (tube), Speakers (high sensitivity),

3. Price range: Budget and Mid-priced

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively: Lyrita DHT Line Preamp

5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: At least 50% less if not more.

6. What do you like best about these products: Design (artisan wood-make), Sound (tube sweetness), Customisation and Exemplary Service

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance: No well-known international brand in the price range that I know of, though some Chinese imports /DIY options exist. Acoustic Portrait (especially in amps and preamps) is a comparable Indian brand.

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details: http://lyrita-audio.in/

9. Any other information (not covered above): Viren Bakhshi, the owner, is a senior audio professional and also a FM whose passion and dedication is evident to whoever interacts/deals with him.
 
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1. Manufacturer/Brand Name: Rethm

2. Equipment categories made: Speakers

3. Price range: Mid-priced, High End and Luxury

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively: Saadhana speakers (old version), Aarka

5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: No competing brands sold in India. Lower end speakers 40-50% discount to international price. Higher end speakers at a lower discount

6. What do you like best about these products: Sound (exceptional sound quality - mix of single driver with active bass section), design

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance: Niche brands like Voxativ. Very niche product

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details: https://rethm.com/

9. Any other information (not covered above): No dealer in India. Can only be demoed with Rethm in Kochi or with people who own the speaker
 
1. Manufacturer/Brand Name: Norge Audio

2. Equipment categories made: Integrated Amplifiers, Pre-Amp, Power Amp, Speakers (bookshelf & floor stander), Phono Pre-Amp, Tuner.

3. Price range: Budget

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively: (owned-Norge 2060),(heard-Norge MOSFET Reference 2000, Norge 1200 PrePower Amp, Norge Tuner, Norge twr 125 tower)
,
5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: comparable performance with certain international brands, vfm and very affordable prices. definitely no price comparison with international products.

6. What do you like best about these products: Simple straightforward boring design, Warm articulate sound, good after sales service.

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance: Maybe NAD...particularly all the amps I heard had that 'NAD-ish' warmth.

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details: http://www.norgeaudio.com/
225, Hammersmith Industrial Estate,
Sitladevi Temple Road, Mahim,
Mumbai – 400 016.
+91-9821871023 / +91-22-2446 6627 / +91-9867447343

9. Any other information (not covered above): Carrying forward the legacy of the legend - Mr. Shyam Bajaj, Mr. Laxman is the dedicated, passionate mainstay in keeping this brand alive!
 
1. Manufacturer/Brand Name: SoundFoundations

2. Equipment categories made: Stands, Racks, Isolations, Cables, Room Acoustics

3. Price range: Budget to Hi-end

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively: Owned - Isolators and Power cables
,
5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: Huge. Priced almost a segment lower than the comparable international branded products it provides import substitutes to.

6. What do you like best about these products: Quality of components used - do not skimp anywhere, key components are imported
Open to customisation
Variety of alternatives in each category as per your needs and budget.- support in helping you decide
Continuous development based on customer feedback

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance: Haven’t explored much.

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details: https://soundfoundations.in/

9. Any other information (not covered above):
Passionate entrepreneurial set up (by a FM) with clarity of scope and positioning. Good insights into materials and their properties. Open to suggestions.
 
Thanks @SachinChavan, for initiating this thread. Here's my take on Torvin.

1. Manufacturer/Brand Name: Torvin Audio Systems

2. Equipment categories made: Tube, SS and Hybrid Integrated, Power and Pre-Amplifiers and Stereo and HT Speakers. They also sell PA systems

3. Price range: Budget to Hi-end

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively: Mosfier II Integrated Amp and Euphonious Towers. I own both these at the time of writing

5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands:
1. Price-to-performance and price-to-quality ratio is huge compared to international brands, for their budget and mid-priced products, in my opinion. I'm not able to comment about their high-end offering, by which I mean products costing 2000$+, as I haven't done extensive A/B comparison in this range and even if I do, I don't think I'm a matured enough listener to notice the fine nuances in musical passages that audiophiles look for and appreciate, especially in this price segment
2. They offer warranty of 5 years for their amplifiers and 10 years for their high-end speakers. They also have a service center for high-end products of international brands, so long term service and repairs will not be an issue
3. Since the products are made locally and are sold directly by the manufacturer, taxes are minimum (18% GST at the time of writing) and there is no dealer/distributor margin in the pricing. They spend less to nil on ads. This is a boon to customers as many manufacturers pass this cost on to customers, indirectly

6. What do you like best about these products:
1. Build quality is excellent and their choice of components is good
2. I am satisfied with the performance
3. Products are offered in vintage finish

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance: Not able to comment.

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details: https://www.torvin.com/
Note: Their website is not up to date and the specs mentioned are not complete. You have to get in touch with them by phone or e-mail to get a list of their entire range. They are active on social media pages and you can get to know about the latest developments by following these pages.

9. Any other information (not covered above):
1. The man behind the brand, John Thankachan, is passionate about music and engineering alike and constantly thrives to improve his line of products
2. I've known this brand for around 20 years and the brand itself is about 40 years old
3. Their only showroom is in Chennai and you'll have to travel there for an audition. It will be good to set-up an appointment in advance, though they are open on all weekdays
4. They are ready to do custom designs
5. There is no official brochure and I had to discover many of their old products from their social media pages and various forums
6. No measurement data is available officially, for those who care about this
7. Very few reviews of their products are available online. I've heard that AV Max magazine used to review their products once upon a time. These are no longer available, as far as I know
8. Many a time, the specs mentioned on their website or other platforms like indiamart.com, justdial.com, etc are incomplete or misleading. For music lovers who have trained and who trust their ears, this many not be a problem at all. For others like me, it will be good to ask the missing data, explicitly, without making any assumptions
 
Members should make an effort to ensure same brand is not posted twice to keep the content relevant. Great thread @SachinChavan

1. Manufacturer/Brand Name: Anode Acoustics

2. Equipment categories made: Tube and SS Power and Pre-Amplifiers, Monoblocks.

3. Price range: 20,000 INR onwards

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively: I own Line Stage Tube Pre-amplifier

5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: A Schiit Audio Saga tube pre-amp costs around 35K in India and has a dual triode with PCB design and most likely SMPS based power. For almost similar price we get a PCB less point to point hand wired design (except power section) with a custom wound transformer with Alps pot, Mundorf / Oil caps and in a solid wooden build cabinet with metal top, it is definitely a winner.

6. What do you like best about these products:
1. Very balanced Audio output
2. Does not limit your flexibility by not posing a timbre that will only work with their other components. Use whatever chain you like.
3. Roll tubes for experimenting with sound signatures
4. Works great with various audio genres
5. Solid build quality
6. Great support

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance: Will find out in upcoming Kolkata Audio Meets and comment. Certainly beats Angel Audio or Little Dot Chinese brands

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details: http://anodeacoustics.in
The owner Nitin is a very helpful person who gives superb advice and is very knowledgeable. They are looking towards establishing a India wide dealer network so that more and more prospective buyers can audition before making a decision.

9. Any other information (not covered above): None

Also I believe Sound Foundation products on stands, mounts and passive isolators are excellent and make us proud. But when it comes to cables, power cords, power conditioners, those are experiments yet to mature and need more time to settle.
 
Members should make an effort to ensure same brand is not posted twice to keep the content relevant. Great thread @SachinChavan

1. Manufacturer/Brand Name: Anode Acoustics

2. Equipment categories made: Tube and SS Power and Pre-Amplifiers, Monoblocks.

3. Price range: 20,000 INR onwards

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively: I own Line Stage Tube Pre-amplifier

5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: A Schiit Audio Saga tube pre-amp costs around 35K in India and has a dual triode with PCB design and most likely SMPS based power. For almost similar price we get a PCB less point to point hand wired design (except power section) with a custom wound transformer with Alps pot, Mundorf / Oil caps and in a solid wooden build cabinet with metal top, it is definitely a winner.

6. What do you like best about these products:
1. Very balanced Audio output
2. Does not limit your flexibility by not posing a timbre that will only work with their other components. Use whatever chain you like.
3. Roll tubes for experimenting with sound signatures
4. Works great with various audio genres
5. Solid build quality
6. Great support

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance: Will find out in upcoming Kolkata Audio Meets and comment. Certainly beats Angel Audio or Little Dot Chinese brands

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details: http://anodeacoustics.in
The owner Nitin is a very helpful person who gives superb advice and is very knowledgeable. They are looking towards establishing a India wide dealer network so that more and more prospective buyers can audition before making a decision.

9. Any other information (not covered above): None

Also I believe Sound Foundation products on stands, mounts and passive isolators are excellent and make us proud. But when it comes to cables, power cords, power conditioners, those are experiments yet to mature and need more time to settle.
Dear Member one name may also be worthy
www.lyrita-audio.in/page5.html
 
Pardon Sir
Pardoned! :)
You have shared a link to lyrita audio but fm SachinChavan has already posted about lyrita audio as post 2 of this thread hence your post become a dupe.. Pls scroll up or click on link below

 
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1. Manufacturer/Brand Name: Telome Audio

2. Equipment categories made: HT/Stereo speakers, Amplifiers, Public audio installations.

3. Price range: Entry level.

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively: Owned long ago (ST500), Heard @ their outlet & @ friend's homes ( ST300, ST600, ST800, TA8400i)


5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: Maybe slightly cheaper than comparable entry level Onkyo, Harman Kardon.

6. What do you like best about these products: Ruggedly built and can take a beating till they break down, good for anyone looking for affordable locally manufactured hifi gear, amps are bright, their floor standers are warm. imo their cube/ fs speakers are best suited for HT. I had paired a Norge 2060 amp with their 2.1 ch speakers(ST500).

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance: Onkyo/Harman Kardon. ( just these two brands that I could recall atm)

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details: http://telomeaudio.com/
[email protected] , [email protected] , 9820064509 , 9820294747


9. Any other information (not covered above): based in Bandra (W) Mumbai, they've been around since the 90s. They also provide customised packages for conference rooms, pubs, restaurants etc
 
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This thread was inspired by the recent hotly discussed thread ‘In India imported hifi equipment is over-priced - true or false’. There’s a consensus that imported equipment is generally overpriced (with notable exceptions) here in India, for a number of reasons. So why not we all create a single repository to list down Indian Hi-fi products (equipment or accessories designed and/or manufactured in India) which we have owned or heard extensively and are convinced that they are world class products in the given (or even higher) price range? This thread could showcase (and motivate) Indian hi-fi brands as well as provide a ready reckoner for forum members and readers to find quality Indian product alternatives at affordable prices!

To ensure ease of reading and assessment, kindly follow the format below in your posts. And please keep it down to only one manufacturer/brand per post (add as many posts as you would like to).

1. Manufacturer/Brand Name:

2. Equipment categories made: (try and use categories as per HFV sub-forums)

3. Price range: Entry, Budget, Mid-priced, High-end, Luxury (for eg for speakers these will correspond roughly to INR <25k, 25-75k, 75k-2L, 2L-6L, >6L respectively - or use your own judgment here)

4. Product/s you owned/heard extensively:

5. Price advantage against comparable products from international brands: state in percentage lower than

6. What do you like best about these products: Add specs/design/build/performance/service - whatever applies, and elaborate

7. Comparable international brands in design and/or performance:

8. Manufacturer’s Website or other contact details:

9. Any other information (not covered above):
Very good thread Mr. Schin. It has already become a good source of Indian product. Hope to see this thread become bigger in future.
 
I came across one such company while looking on OLX. https://www.indiqaudio.com/
If anyone has experience in dealing with them or their products, please put in the word.
I had also come across this brand while searching for 'Norge' on OLX. Did not expect them to have a a website and never bothered searching for it separately. Thanks for sharing the website. The website suggests a professional set-up. Has anyone here listened to their speakers or amplifiers? Any thoughts?
 
Is there a completely indian brand which uses everything made in india?
Yes. Indiqaudio

Their products seem extremely good too in terms of the price for the specs they offer.

Spoke to one of the Co-founders and his passion for building great products in India was evident.
 
Is there a completely indian brand which uses everything made in india?
do you mean all parts used in the component should also be made in India? In that case, I doubt it. There would be some parts (eg specific transistors, caps) which aren’t necessarily manufactured locally

even Rethm speakers, which use Indian drivers, still have hypex amps in the bass section. Indiq listed above use Sanken transistors in their amps. Lyrita use imported speaker drivers and tubes
 
Yes. Indiqaudio

Their products seem extremely good too in terms of the price for the specs they offer.

Spoke to one of the Co-founders and his passion for building great products in India was evident.
Have you had the opportunity to listen to their speakers / amps?
 
Purchase the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier at a special offer price.
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